Desk Accessories

I've been at my new job for a couple of months now, it's time to accessorize...

The item on the left is a jumbo white clothespin that Debbie gave me. I've had it on my dresser for months and it was time to decorate it! The item on the right is an empty Crystal Light container. (I think it need some ribbons tied around...hmmm....)

Items Used (All Close To My Heart)
X7075B More to Adore Level 2 Paper Pack (Blush, Chocolate, Hollyhock, Vanilla Creme)
Word Stamps: Imagine, dream, create are from the create a file stampset
Hollyhock ribbon and the white flower is from the autumn just blooms

I just love having these on my desk....but I may have created a monster... I think I need more fun decorations!

Blast From the Past

It's so fun to see ideas and techniques that us "seasoned" stampers did so long ago, resurface and gain new attention. Sometimes I forget to show the "old" stuff to my new customers and then it kills me when I see it in an article or sample in papercrafts magazine. The latest article on "stamp kissing" comes to mind.

So with that in mind, Bren and I created some fun invitations for a church project and we brayered!!! I can not even tell you how long it's been since I've used my brayer for something other than rolling across my paper to make the glue stick good.


We put sunny yellow, sunflower and holiday red reinker on a piece of felt to create our own "stamp pad." Then we rolled the brayer over it and then we brayered glossy cardstock to create the great background for the cards. Bren drew and cut out all the candles and I stamped "wax strong" on the front of the cards. Wax strong ties in with a scriptural reference for the meeting. I think they turned out awesome!!! I can hardly wait to take them tonight

and.... I am truly indebted to Bren for inspiring me and helping me with this project!!! She was a woman on a mission Monday and she just kept me plodding along. Good thing too!! I had to have these done today and we ended up spending the whole evening in the ER last night!!!! Thank you Bren!!!!!!

Why I missed knitting....again....

Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes things just aren't meant to be?

All last year we did the major shuffle to get everyone where they needed to be on Tuesday nights. Scouts started at 7pm, knitting started at 6:30pm and then there was the semester when the scouts took missionary prep class that started at 6:00pm. It was crazy, but somehow we got where we needed to be.

Imagine my excitment when I found out that all the youth activities at church were being moved to Wednesdays! Woo Hoo. No more crazy Tuesday nights. I could go to knitting in peace. I wouldn't be rushed. Life was good.

There have been three classes so far and I have been to 1.

Last week was no big deal. Josh's soccer game was away and they got back late.

Here's a picture to explain why I didn't go this week.

Of course we took pictures. The gauze hids a pretty nasty gash ...(I have pictures of it too!) that wouldn't stop bleeding....thus the gauze... We have to keep hubby in the loop, right? If he can't be there to see all the fun, he can at least see pictures. A guy with the patient next door kept saying "was that a camera going off." He sounded a bit annoyed. I can't believe he couldn't hear us talking about taking pictures. I figure it was his way of expressing his opinion about how stupid it was. Oh well. I know Rick will want to see all the details of the fun he's missing while he's gone. He'll probably be disappointed that I didn't film the actual stitches, but even I won't go that far....

Rather than write a novel, I'll just share a list of fun little tidbits.

1) A foot with cleats connected with his knee - 5 stiches and the gash was pretty nasty!

2) 4 hours in the emergency room. His stay was lengthened when he tried to pass out the first time we were released. Pain, starvation and getting up too fast made him a bit woozy.

3) I filled in for hubby nicely. I didn't get quite the same joy out of watching the whole process, but I did pretty good. I watched most of the gross parts and just glanced down at my book when it got to be too much.

4) So glad I'm not the mom of the kid with the broken collar bone that was screaming a few beds down. He was sleeping when we saw him later. Morphine...ahhh... the peace it brings.

5) A few days on crutches, 14 days until the stitches come out and then he should be able to play again. I wonder if that means I'll be able to go to knitting for a couple of weeks?

Here's a picture of what I would've worked on in class. Someday this blanket might be bigger than a lap blanket.

My People

Ok, so I was reading Cathy Zielske’s blog (thank goodness she’s writing again) and I was reminded once more, why scrapbookers are my people. I’m not quite as cool as Cathy but here are a few things I’ve noticed that we have in common

Techy – love all the techy gadgets. And while I thought I had left the mac world behind about 8 years ago, a macbook has recently taken up residence in our home. It’s not mine, but sometimes I get to carry it and pretend it’s mine. I even got to use it the other day while we were sitting in urgent care. I’m trying to play it cool though. The child doesn’t know that I covet his macbook. If he knew, he’d use it against me and try to bargain with it. If I pretend to be aloof and all into the pc world, he might continue to try and convert me.

Music – Love the same kind of music, except I have a piece missing in my brain. It’s the place where most people remember the names of songs and bands. I seem to store random phone numbers there instead. Go ahead, ask me some random phone number of a friend that I called once. It’s scary. Yesterday while we were stamping Bren asked for Anita’s number. I knew it. Of course, we still had to look it up to be sure. I’m not always sure that the number that pops into my head is correct.

The child knows about this freaky little quirk and loves to tell me numbers that I don’t want to remember. I could be mad at him, but somehow I think his sick sense of humor might be the result of genetics.

Pet Names – I loved the letter from Chip to his owners. My family thinks I’m the only strange one that can speak for animals. As if that wasn’t funny enough there was the very end of the letter…
Signed,Chip
p.s. they are coming up with silly nicknames for me, like, "Chip dip dippity do" and "Chippy McScratchy". HELP!
Did you know we have a hamster named peanut? Peanut brittle, peanut butter, little nut…. We used to have a hamster named Dixie; Dixie doodle, Dixie cup, whistlin Dixie..

Oh yes….scrapbookers are my people. Or maybe it’s bloggers? At least I know I’m not alone in my craziness. If only I could play it off as “cool” like Cathy.

January Sketch

One of the fun new things I've added to my monthly crops/workshops this year is a new emphasis on card-making.

Last year I started my "Cherish" workshops based on the Close To My Heart book, Cherish. We started at the beginning of the book and each month we focus on a different technique/layout. It has been so much fun! It's amazing how different each layout is, just based on using different papers.

Well I decided to apply that same concept to cards. Each month I'm choosing a new card design and showing several samples... using different papers. The best thing is that the scrapbookers can use up their extra pieces from their layouts to make a few cards too!

We're starting out with a quick and simple sketch for January...to get the ball rolling....

Saving Dinner

Two days and two posts, must be a world record for me. I figure that the only way to get back in the habit of blogging....is to do it... Hopefully I'll find my voice again and stop writing boring drivel.

One of my main focus' right now is de-cluttering and organizing. I have once again put on my "flybaby" wings. (www.flylady.com) I kind of came back to it backwards this time.

It all started when I changed jobs and Josh joined the school soccer team. Our already difficult schedule now includes two practices per week and two games per week, plus a child that burns all that energy has to replace it with....lots of food.... My old, "let's look in the fridge and figure out what's for dinner" routine just wasn't working. He was grumpy and hungry. I was grumpy and tired and didn't want to cook. We were eating out too often and eating poorly. I was happy with a bowl of cereal for dinner. For some strange reason, he didn't like that idea.

So I went back to www.savingdinner.com. I loved the idea of a pre-planned set of meals with a grocery list too! I guess it had been a while since I'd visited the website. There were a ton of new choices...including.... an entire service dedicated to crock-pot cooking.

I am not kidding when I tell you that it has completely changed my life!!! I didn't take time to think it over. I jumped in head first. I took the grocery list and bought everything. I didn't change the meals. I didn't worry about whether we'd like them or not. We just simply decided to go for it and see what happened. We could always have cereal.

I guess I was kind of in survival mode.

I knew I had to prep the night before so that I could put it together quickly in the morning.

I stayed up late the first night... but the next night, when we came home and dinner was done... I could've cried!!! It was so relaxing. No one was hungry and grumpy. I was actually quite happy to do the dishes (what few there were) and get prepped for the next day...

So changing the way I cooked meals, opened the door to helping me keep up with the dishes, organizing my shopping trips - no more daily grocery store runs... which gave me more time to do laundry....

Slowly I started adding in some of the other "flylady" ideas. I'm not a pro yet. I have a long way to go. But each day things seem to get better and better.

Quick Update

(Card details: Heart of Winter paper pack from Close To My Heart. Colors are olive, smokey plum and bamboo, just blooms paper flowers, pansy purple big brad, slide frame Dimensional Element, smokey plum and olive organdy ribbon)

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this blog! I never really intended to leave it completely. I just got caught up in adjusting to our new lifestyle and job changes and life in general. Before I knew it, 5 months flew by.

Things have settled down into a more predicatable routine and I feel like I've finally got a handle on it. It isn't any less hectic or busy, it's just that I've settled into a routine so I can handle it better now.

Job front

I guess things weren't crazy enough, with hubby changing jobs, so I decided to do it too! It was a scary leap of faith, but ended up being a huge blessing. I love my new job. It's a little bit further to drive and a little more formal atmosphere, but I absolutely love it.

Knitting

I took a break from the afghan with all the different squares/stitches. I think I have 12 or 13 left to go. I needed some mindless relaxation knitting that I could pick up for 5-10 minutes at a time without reading a pattern so I started on a log cabin blanket for hubbys bed in his truck. The pattern is in the Mason Dixon pattern book and it's really turning out nice.

Stamping and Scrapbooking

I've been having tons of fun getting ready for my workshops for the year. In addition to doing the monthly layout from Cherish, I decided to start adding a monthly card design for my cardmakers. My first workshop of the year is next weekend so I can hardly wait to see what the think about the new addition. I think they're going to love it!!!

On a more personal stamping note.... I stamped and MAILED all my Christmas cards this year. Truly amazing if you ask me. Usually I'm so busy teaching other people to stamp, that I forget to do stuff for myself. Thanks to my good friend Jane and our sometimes weekly stamp sessions.... I've started setting time aside to actually make cards for myself.

Well I hope to post a few pictures of what I've been up to and get back to posting more frequently... but this should get things going again....